Soni's Food

Indian Inspiration!

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

19 | 12 | 2017
By Soni Sinha

The weather outside might be frightful but the fire inside is surely delightful during this time of the year! My kids wanted to sip hot chocolate with marshmallows sitting by the fire over the weekend and we did just that! I baked some Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip cookies for them and we had a lazy ‘Do nothing Day’ that we enjoyed. We all lead such busy lives that its essential to wind down every once in a while, and do nothing.It was so nice to just relax for once!

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

I had some cream cheese sitting in my refrigerator waiting to be used and I decided to bake some cookies.I looked up a few recipes on the web like this one and went along with what I had on hand.Some recipes called for brown sugar and I didn’t have any so I just went with regular granulated sugar.It still turned out good.The cream cheese adds a rich creamy flavor to these cookies and takes it to another level!And of course the chocolate chips add to the magic here.So so good.

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

It’s a great treat to have on hand during the holidays and something special. My kids loved it.The cookies are slightly chewy and dense just the way I like them. My other favorite cookies during this time are these Peanut Butter Blossoms and Chocolate Drop Cookies that are equally devoured by my kids.Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Ingredients
  

  • Cream Cheese-1/4 cup
  • ½ cup 1 stick butter softened
  • Sugar-3/4 cup
  • 1 large egg
  • Vanilla-2 tsp
  • All purpose flour-2 1/4 cup
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a mixing bowl with electrical mixer, beat cream cheese, butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
  • Beat in egg and vanilla until all mixed.
  • Slowly beat in the flour,baking soda and salt.
  • Fold in the chocolate chips.
  • Drop the dough by teaspoonfuls onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet about 1 inch apart.
  • Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the top starts getting slightly brown around the edges.
  • Let the cookies cool on a wire rack.Once cool transfer into an airtight container.

 

Almondina Toastees #Review and #Giveaway!!

08 | 02 | 2017
By Soni Sinha


We’ve been enjoying Almondina Brand cookies for quite sometime now,and,they recently sent me their delicious Toastees for a review and giveaway!Yes, you can enter to win! Almondina Toastees are essentially all natural twice-baked almond crisp with just a few ingredients, as you’d expect Almondina Brand to be. That’s the reason we love them.Thank you Almondina.
Almondina Toastees

Almondina Toastees have no cholesterol, no added salt, fat, trans fat or preservatives and are dairy free. They’re nutritionally good for you with 1-2 gms protein and only 60-70 calories per serving (4 pieces).My pack contained three different flavors-

  • Cranberry Almond-I love the tang of dried cranberries in this one, my favorite!
  • Sesame Almond– flavors from sesame comes through in this one.Really good.
  • Coconut Orange Almond-dual nuttiness of toasted coconuts and almonds combines with citrus here and its delicious!

Each flavor combination is unique and they’re great out of the bag for road trips, office or school events and also as kids’ snack or as a crunchy ice-cream or yoghurt topping.I love them with my coffee!

Almondina Toastees

Almondina is a family owned business and it all started with Grandmother Dina’s most secret recipe that she called Petit Gateau Sec. After her death, the family became aware that the remarkable characteristics of this nutritious cookie fell in line with today’s health conscious consumers. Today Almondina Toastees are being carried coast-to-coast by stores including all Sprouts Markets, Bed Bath & Beyond, Publix, Fairway Markets, Kroger Michigan, Amazon, Almondina.com and others.

Almondina toastees

Giveaway!!One lucky reader will get a free sample pack consisting of 3 flavors of Almondina Toastees and this giveaway is open to all US residents!Please note that previous winners of Almondina giveaways are ineligible.
What is your favorite flavor?Please leave a comment below and enter to win!The winner will be announced on Wed the 15th of Feb and notified via email.If no claim is made within 24 hours then the prize will go to the next claimant.Good Luck!!
The winner of my giveaway is Danielle Mulkey!Congrats!

This Giveaway is closed.

Disclaimer: I received a sample pack of Almondina Toastees from Almondina Brand and all opinions are my own.

Beet Hummus

03 | 11 | 2015
By Soni Sinha

There’s something magical about the holidays.It just brings about a renewed energy and enthusiasm to plan your perfect gathering.But it can also be quite stressful if you’re not used to cooking for a crowd.The key to reducing your stress is to plan things in advance.Write down the menu, prepare the grocery list accordingly, and prep up as much as possible a day in advance.I personally believe that a wide spread of appetizers are the key to a party.They get the guests started and give you the opportunity to serve flavors from around the world in small bites.But you don’t have to go overboard with complicated dishes, instead go with simple yet tantalizing flavors in your dishes.

Our calendars are marked with parties almost every weekend leading up to Thanksgiving and keeping that in mind, I’ve been working on a few recipes that I’ll be sharing with you over the course of the next few weeks and hoping you’ll try them and enjoy.

Beet Hummus 2

 

My first recipe is an easy Beet Hummus that tastes amazing and looks absolutely stunning with a vibrant pink color. This dip is a great addition to your party menu, that’s bound to get your guests raving.I first tasted Beet Hummus in a Moroccan restaurant and immediately fell in love with its gorgeous color. The flavors from the beet give the hummus a slight hint of sweetness which when combined with the garlic,lemon and the chickpeas just rounds up the perfect balance of sweet, salty and tangy. I didn’t have any tahini on hand, hence went ahead without it and it was still delicious.

The process starts with roasting the beet in the oven and then adding the rest of the ingredients in your food processor.It can be made a day in advance and is best served chilled with any chips of your choice or crudites.It lasts for up to a week in the fridge.My kids loved it for their school snack too!Enjoy.

Beet Hummus

Print Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • Beet-1 medium
  • 1 15 oz can of chickpeas drained
  • Juice of a medium sized lemon
  • Garlic cloves-2
  • Salt and pepper
  • Extra Virgin Olive Oil-1/4 cup

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  • Wash the beet and wrap it in a foil and bake it for an hour.Once done let to cool a bit.
  • Once cool to touch, chop into small pieces and add into the food processor along with the rest of the ingredients and blend.
  • Check the seasonings and adjust.
  • Enjoy.

Olive Oil Cake

01 | 10 | 2015
By Soni Sinha

Life is all about enjoying simple pleasures.

Like this simple cake..

I started making this cake as I was craving for something sweet.But little did I expect that my kids would be raving and going for seconds since it’s a tad different from the cakes that they’re used to.This cake uses Olive Oil instead of butter and going by the response in our family it certainly looks like a new favorite!

Olive Oil Cake

Olive Oil Cake is a easy dessert that uses ingredients you have on hand..I first thought this cake would have a strong Olive oil flavor but it has just a slight hint of the Olive Oil along with the vanilla and tastes delicious.Its perfectly moist and fluffy.I’ve kept it simple although you can make different variations using lemon or orange.I followed this recipe except for the orange juice and zest since I didn’t have any at hand and it still turned out perfect!A little sprinkling of powdered sugar is all you need to dress it up.

Olive Oil Cake 1

Enjoy it as a light snack or dessert with your cuppa!As for me I’ve just made a bigger batch since my kids wanted it for their school snack too.Happy Mom 🙂

Olive Oil Cake

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Ingredients
  

  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • ⅓ cup olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Grease and flour a 9-inch square cake pan. Mix together the sugar and eggs in a medium bowl with a hand mixer on medium speed until blended and light.
  • Drizzle in the olive oil and vanilla and mix until light and smooth.
  • Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in another bowl.
  • Add the flour mixture half at a time to the wet ingredients and mix on low just to bring it together.
  • Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake, 25 to 30 minutes.
  • Let the cake cool 15 minutes, dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve.

Fried Polenta

07 | 01 | 2015
By Soni Sinha

Welcome to the new year!As promised I’m on my task for the new year and have some exciting recipes lined up for you.During the winter break we visited our family in the UK.We met some old friends in London and had a lovely time with my in-laws near Birmingham.The kids got to meet their cousins and I also got to meet my sister in Wales and spent some quality time with her sans hubby and kids.We chatted our hearts out, watched movies, went shopping, you know..all the good stuff that sisters do!

Fried Polenta

We went out for a drive around the country side one morning and was hungry after a while.We spotted this lovely restaurant and decided to have lunch there.The menu consisted of some pretty good options and after much deliberation we settled on Fried Polenta with Asparagus that sounded amazing.Believe it or not I’d never had fried polenta before!I was always intrigued looking at the pics on the web or when somebody mentioned it but never tried it until this point.When the dish arrived it just looked stunning!The polenta was topped with pan fried asparagus,a poached egg and shavings of parmesan cheese.It looked divine and I couldn’t wait to dig in.It tasted amazing.Slightly crispy on the outside along with the contrasting textures of the asparagus and the egg.We enjoyed our lunch and ever since I came back I’ve been wanting to try them at home.

Fried Polenta 3

Hence today, Fried Polenta is on the menu for you.I had some cornmeal sitting in the pantry waiting to be used and this seemed like the perfect opportunity!I loved how easy the process is and it also makes for a great party appetizer served along with some marinara sauce.I searched the web for a good recipe and found this one from Giada De Laurentiis.I was delighted that they turned out so good in the first try !My kids ate them for their after school snack with a thumbs-up!Will be making them again and again!Enjoy!

Fried Polenta

Fried Polenta

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Ingredients
  

For Polenta

  • 6 cups water
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 ¾ cups yellow cornmeal
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

For Fried Polenta

  • 3 cups Basic Polenta
  • 6 tbsp olive oil for frying
  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan
  • Salt
  • 1 cup purchased marinara sauce

Instructions
 

Polenta recipe

  • Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan.
  • Add 2 teaspoons of salt. Gradually whisk in the cornmeal.
  • Reduce the heat to low and cook until the mixture thickens and the cornmeal is tender, stirring constantly, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat.
  • Add the butter, and stir until melted.

Fried Polenta

  • Cut the polenta into thin long pieces.
  • Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat.
  • Working in batches, fry the polenta pieces until golden brown on all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Using tongs, transfer the polenta pieces to paper towels and drain.Serve warm along with some store bought marinara.